4 Toxic Money Beliefs That Keep You From Financial Freedom

“Money is more important than my time”

I’ve seen a lot of articles and videos that talk about “toxic” money beliefs and how those are standing in the way of achieving financial freedom and building sustainable, long-term wealth.

I’m not a fan of the term because it’s overused. But the idea that we have certain destructive beliefs about money is certainly true.

The most obvious destructive beliefs are “money is evil” or “I’m not good with money.” We all get that. Money is good if you use it to do well. And everyone can learn to get better with money.

But I’ve experienced that there are deeper, less-explored toxic money beliefs. And the first step to weeding them out is by being self-aware.

1. “I can start being happy only when I’m making more money”

So many of us are in this perpetual state of waiting. It seems like we’re always in the waiting room of Dr. Happiness. We assume that we will be happy if we achieve a certain income goal.

And while it’s okay to try to earn more, it becomes a problem when you start living in the future.

One of my team members, John, told me about a friend of his who’s into YouTube. The friend keeps talking about starting his own YouTube channel. But he only wants to start when he’s earning more money from his day job. “So things would be more secure,” the friend said.

Have you ever found yourself saying, “Oh, I’ll do [insert desirable activity] when I’ve got more money”? That’s living in the future.

When you live in the future, you’re always waiting for the moment to start living your life. You live in this empty space in between goals. And it’s not a good place to be in because you’re always anxious.

Seneca talks about this in On the Shortness of Life:

“It is inevitable that life will be not just very short but very miserable for those who acquire by great toil what they must keep by greater toil.

They achieve what they want…